


A Sailor's Soul

by Kira_Katashi



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Happy!Shay, Shanties, The Morrigan - Freeform, just a simple day, the soft beginning of Shaytham
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 15:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18802783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kira_Katashi/pseuds/Kira_Katashi
Summary: A good day on the Morrigan.





	A Sailor's Soul

**Author's Note:**

> There are not enough FFs that feature a not completely depressed Shay. After  Dino  managed to turn a soft n’ happy meant idea into angst I now give my shot at it.  
> So here it is: a happy!Shay one-shot.
> 
> _( Set somewhere in the beginning of Shay’s Templar career)_

It was a good day.  
Night’s sleep had been blissful nothingness, the sun was out, and the wind was a loom gale letting them sail at good speed.

Shay loved the Morrigan and he loved his crew. It had taken a while but now he was the Captain to a crew that did not only followed him because he payed them. They too loved the Morrigan and their comrades.  
A handful of the men were even aboard since his assassin days. They had remained on the ship as bandits seized her out of the incompetent hands Chevaliers.  
As soon as his boots had hit the deck, reclaiming what was his, they ran up to him, embracing him like a long-lost brother. He nearly cried that day. Because they had no direct affiliation with the Brotherhood other than being hired to sail the ship – they didn’t care that he was a Templar, they were only happy to see him. Him as a person, not as a representation of a fraction in a timeless war.

His little patchwork family on the sea.

It had been a deeply hidden fear of his – losing this little heaven – as he swore the Templar’s oath, but Haytham saw the use of him as a Captain ex-Assassin. He could continue sailing – now below the Templar’s Cross. He could say with confidence that they not without flaws, but he captained the best ship-crew combination the Order had to offer.

With a gentle smile he patted the wheel and gave the control over to Gist.  
Sometimes he just wanted to mingle with the crew, flicking the sails, hauling the ropes and maybe even helping the cook. Today he helped setting the sails, climbing up with the ease of a monkey.

To be up this high was breathtaking, Shay could spend hours upon hours just watching sun or moon glittering on the water. And it was a little bit of an adrenalin kick too – one wrong step and he would fall. From this height it made not much of a difference if he landed on deck or water – it would hurt very, _very_ much either way.

Shay knew how the ship rocked on the waves in any kind of weather, so precisely in fact that he sometimes stumbled on land when he tried to counter-balance waves where none were. The sea was his home and the Morrigan his Lady.

So far, it had been relatively quiet since the last shift change – it was time to change that.

Sitting down were the yard met the main mast Shay took a deep breath and started to sing:

“I thought I heard the old man say!”

_Leave her Johnny, leave her!_

One line was all it took to get his crew to sing with him. A choir of high voices, low voices, crew members that could actually sing fantastic and some that rather shouldn’t but did so anyway.  
It wasn’t necessarily pretty – nobody ever asked for pretty on a ship – but it was freeing, a weight taken off one’s chest, strengthening the bound between ‘mates.

_Well it’s time for us to say goodbye._

Shay wanted days like today to never end, to never say goodbye to them. Just him, the crew, the Morrigan and the sea.

When the song came to an end the silence didn’t remain for long, the effect of a domino. A crewmember cleaning the cannons initiated the next song.

_Help me Bob I’m bully in the alley!_

And the others answered their comrade with a loud _whey, hey!_ \- the next shanty began.

Humming in-tune with the melody Shay grabbed one of the ropes and slid back down on deck. Best time as any to look after their guest. Haytham. The Grand Master never talked more than necessary but brought the sassiness to the next level – some people didn’t even notice when they got insulted by him. It had been hilarious to witness as he managed to call the last harbormaster various versions of dumb in such a way that the poor sod thought he got complimented!

Letting two mates carrying a just repaired sail through the made his way to the hatch leading inside.  
Even below deck the sailors were singing from the depth of their souls, the wooden walls doing little to muffle the mismatched choir from outside.

Surprisingly a small voice came from the direction of the cabin inhabited by the Grand Master. Carefully he sneaked towards the slightly ajar door and looked inside.

_I’ll leave Sal and I’ll become a sailor._

Haytham was sitting on his berth, sharpening his sword while singing quietly but perfectly in-tune along to the song. He even scratched over the grindstone in takt.

Out of courtesy Shay knocked against the doorframe to announce himself and walked in; the other looking a bit like he just got caught red-handed.

“Didn’t know you sing shanties sir.”

“Truly my father’s fault, he was a…sailor.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

More into his coat than actually to Shay Haytham mumbled:

“He was a _privateer_.”

Oh. Who knew Haytham Kenway Grand Master extraordinaire, classiest guy in the Order had a pirate father? Wait…he had that melody inside his head. Kenway…

“Sir, was his name Edward?”

Haytham nodded.

“Care to follow me on deck?”

With a sigh the Templar stood up, sheathed his sword back where it belonged and followed him outside. Back at the helm Shay gave Haytham a cheeky grin and turned to his crew as it just finished their last shanty. From behind he heard a _Shay, whatever you think - **no**_ but this, this was a Shay **_yes_**.

“He seized a galleon with a raft and four men!”

_COME JOIN US EDWARD KENWAY!_

Shay heard Haytham sighing behind him, looking at a face-palming Grand Master as he turned around laughing. He couldn’t be too annoyed with Shay thou – his feet tapped along to the beat. When Shay thought about it, with how at ease the older man was, he couldn’t be anything else than a child of the sea.

_They told us his legend wherever he’s been._

Maybe, people will tell tales about them too.

Someday.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it :)  
> Well, the first two shanties can be found in-game: Leave Her Johnny  and  Bully in the Alley  (but my favourite version of it is sung by Kimber's Men) and the last one is  The Ballad of Edward Kenway by The Dead Crew of Oddwood.


End file.
